A New Dawn
by Rikkudo
Summary: Obito is able to seal the Jūbi within himself a bit faster than he expected, fast enough that the Allied Shinobi Forces haven't reached them yet. This leaves Uzumaki Naruto completely at his mercy. He cannot resist when the Ten-Tail's Jinchūriki forces him from his own world. A dimension-hopping story.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Some Japanese guy seems hell-bent on twisting the show beyond recognition though, so blame him.

_So this is a **plot-bunny**. If you want a real and substantial story, check out my main account **Duesal10**. On the other hand I happen the like this idea. Dimension-hopping stories hold a ton of possibilities. It's almost like a Naruto crossover with an AU. You know what? I'm continuing this. This is also my first try at present tense. Let me know how I did? Any and all criticism is welcome. Hell, even flames would be nice (although I'll probably just laugh if anyone bothers to flame a plot-bunny)._

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Prologue

Uzumaki Naruto has had too many close calls to count, but this is the first time that he realizes he cannot win, that no amount of fighting will change anything for the better. This time, they've truly lost.

Despite the knowledge, spiky blond locks stand straight up as undulating power bursts forth from within like a river raging through the broken remains of a dam. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki stands firm as the world goes to hell. He owes it to them, those who had died, to fight to the bitter end. It doesn't matter that they stood no chance, but he'll be damned if he dies without giving it his all.

Thus, Naruto prepares himself for the inevitable end.

He doesn't even flinch when _he_ appears, the man with the eyes of power, different though they may be: one with swirls of inky black in a sea of blood, and the other a royal purple, the concentric ripples leading back to the pupil.

"Obito," Naruto growls, instinctively tensing his muscles in preparation for the upcoming confrontation. "We'll never accept this!"

Obito's face is a blank slate, void of all emotion. His eyes seem to shimmer with a hint of annoyance, but Naruto can't be sure.

The man takes a step forward, then another, then another, each footfall like an earth-shaking boom. There's a flash of movement. Naruto does't realize how, but he finds himself sprawled on the ground, his arm twisted at an odd angle and his mouth spraying with blood. The world briefly disappears in red and black before Naruto regains his sight to find Obito standing above him with his arms crossed.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you've proved far too much of a nuisance to be allowed to live, even if half the Kyuubi is inside you."

Naruto tries to snarl, but finds that he can't; his jaw has been shattered, and even Kurama is having trouble healing it.

Obito reaches out, chakra pooling dangerously as kanji blaze into existence at the tips of his fingers.

Naruto scrambles away as best as he can with his injured limbs, Obito trailing him effortlessly.

"No! Stay away! You're not gonna seal me, 'ttebayo!" His jaw has managed to heal enough for him to speak, but it still hurts like hell. His limbs are still only semi-functional though . . .

Obito merely vanishes and reappears in front of the blond, shoving his fingers into his stomach.

With a gasp, Naruto drops to the floor, the agony of his new seal causing his mind to go blank.

Obito's face displays no satisfaction, but his eyes gleam with malice. "Uzumaki Naruto, know that I am this world's god. I cast you out that you may never return."

Naruto burns as the seal engulfs his being. The last thing he is aware of is the screams of his allies who have caught up to him at last. He closes his eyes in absolute shame, realizing that he has failed them all for the last time.

He thinks no more as the darkness takes him.

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**Author's Note:** _Once again, this is a plot-bunny, not an actual story. Don't expect too much commitment on my part._

_Here's a little secret though. The amount of reviews I receive directly correlates to my motivation to write. It's a bit childish, I know, but at least I'm honest about it. Now I won't do anything like holding you guys hostage until you give me a certain amount of reviews or anything like that. Doing that is basically like a child screaming for attention. :P_

_That aside, I hope you enjoy this random idea of mine. And I hope you like my attempt at writing in present tense._


	2. Chapter 1

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

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**A New Dawn**

Chapter 1: Startling Differences

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

_When Uzumaki Naruto wakes, it is not to bellowed war-cries or the screams of the dying. He wakes to a world of light._

Trees shield him from the worst of the sunlight while a warm breeze drifts through the air. Naruto pushes himself off the ground, stunned and confused. Has Obito killed him? Is this heaven?

He realizes that he's standing in a small playground before he sees. He wants to deny it, to say that it couldn't be real, that it is all a Genjutsu, yet four faces stare firmly into the distance. Four, not five—Tsunade-baa-chan isn't on the mountain anymore.

Below the monument, life goes on in the peaceful village. People cheerfully wave to one another in the streets, shopkeepers call out to passer-bys to come look at their wares. Everyone's so damn _happy_. It's almost as if nothing happened.

As if no one had died.

Naruto suddenly wants to scream. Is Obito trying to literally erase the existence of everyone that he cared about in the Genjutsu? The thought outraged him, causing his over-stressed mind to go blank with fury. He breaths heavily with a primitive rage, the aura he emits more than enough to scare away just about anything that can move.

When he opens his eyes, they are crimson and inhuman. When he speaks, his voice is not his own, but the growl of a primal beast.

**"Obito, I will _DESTROY_ YOU!"**

Naruto and the monster trapped within him work in tandem with each other, one fueling the other with devastating power. Naruto brings dangerously tensed hands in front of his body into a familiar seal. He and Kurama will destroy this fake world in a single overwhelming blast.

He doesn't even look up when dozens of ANBU race towards him in response to his massive build-up of chakra.

His red eyes flash when he knows he's ready. Just as the first sword descends on his unmoving form, he screams, **"KAI!"**

* * *

The entire attacking force is blasted away by a wall of pure, dense chakra. The ground craters around this unknown shinobi as he gathers more and more of his seemingly bottomless power. It's like nothing they've ever seen. They tense in apprehension when he growls, almost to himself, **"You won't win . . ." **

ANBU though they were, his voice floods ice through their veins. **"I won't let you win!" **Before they can even wonder who the man is screaming at, the air turns to syrup. The previously boisterous village slowly falls silent with a deathly fear as the blond man's killing intent rises to unbearable levels. Several of the ANBU gasp, clutching at their chests are they struggle to keep their hearts beating, some just barely managing to do so.

**"I won't be trapped in your fake world! I WILL FIND YOU!" **An explosive pulse of power, enough the make the trees shudder and force the ANBU to stumble and falter. **"I WILL KILL YOU!"** Another blast, this one with enough power to flood the entire village, fueled with more chakra than most S-rank techniques. The ANBU are blasted clear off their feet, some only able to stop moving after dozens of yards.

The man screams in rage when he finds that his surroundings are still the same, as if he hasn't done enough yet.

* * *

Naruto knows he will be trapped in this world forever unless he destroyes it from within. Until then, Obito will roam free, slaughtering whoever he deems 'unworthy' of his new world. Naruto's blood boils as he thinks about it.

_'Kurama!'_

**_'I know, brat! On my__ signal!'_**

* * *

The ANBU are at a total loss. They don't know how to deal with someone they can't even approach, someone who can through unknown means knock them off their feet and flood their entire village with his terrifying killing-intent. They stand there helpless as the man before them burns.

Yes, burns.

They gape as his body is suddenly illuminated with a golden light, as thick black stripes that appear on his cheeks accentuate monstrous red eyes, casting his sharp features in a feral light. They tremble as a cloak of pure golden chakra materializes itself around his already god-like form. They realize that there is no way they can beat such a creature.

Without warning though, the light disappears. The intruder looks confused for a moment before his eyes roll to the back of his head and he crumples to the floor. The ANBU almost cry with relief when they see who was standing behind the monster.

"Hokage-sama!" The finally notice the sealing matrix that spans across the floor, immobilizing the intruder.

"You saved us!"

"Saved the village!"

"Defeated that monster!"

The celebrations continue as the ANBU squads marvel at the fact that they were still alive.

Namikaze Minato remains unmoving as he stares at the man at his feet. Bright blond hair, unmistakeable whisker marks. His build was a bit sturdier, and he stood a bit shorter, but the resemblance could not be denied. This man—no, this _boy_ since he looked seventeen at the most—could have easily passed as his son.

But he only has one child. He _knows_ he only has one child.

Her name is Uzumaki Naruko, and she just became a jōnin yesterday.

Minato's eyes narrow as he stares at the man at his feet.


	3. Chapter 2

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

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**A New Dawn**

Chapter Two: The Dead Are Among Us

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

_When Naruto wakes the first time, it is to a world filled with light. But this time, his awareness expands on a world cloaked with darkness, a world that reeked of death._

The voices are outside the door again.

"How is he now? Any progress?"

They've been there for weeks now.

"Nothing so far. He just sits and stares at the wall all day. Doesn't so much as try to move."

Always watching, always observing.

"So nothing has changed since the . . . _incident_. Does he at least eat?"

Poking and prodding at him like he's an animal.

"He eats, enough to keep himself healthy anyway." There's a snort accompanying this statement.

They pause for a moment, as if lost in thought. Then one set of feet walk away, boots echoing through the long hallway. A metal door slams shut moments later.

Outside the door, the guard sighs in boredom, "Looks like it's just you and me again."

Uzumaki Naruto doesn't reply. What's the point of talking to fake people anyway?

* * *

Namikaze Minato doesn't know what to do when despite his best efforts, the entire village knows about his blond look-alike that he's been keeping under lock and key. Apparently, one of the Academy students had seen the entire incident from a distance and had told his classmates who told _their_ parents, and it was all over once any information was released to the civilian parents. Minato sighs.

Gossiping circles can just go to hell.

Just as he leans back in his chair to try and take a break from the abomination known as paperwork, his door slams open. Minato groans as none of the ANBU bother to intercept the intruder. There are only two people they were absolutely not allowed to touch: the first being his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, and the second being their daughter, newly minted jounin Uzumaki Naruko. Minato doesn't know why Naruko had decided to take her mother's name, but he doesn't mind all that much. To him, a name is just a name. Naruko will be his daughter no matter what.

He just wishes that at times she wouldn't be so _loud_. Honestly, just like her mother. The only thing she got from him was her hair and eyes. The rest of her was all Kushina, right down to the quality of her chakra.

"Tou-saaan," she whines, her blonde pigtails bouncing at the sides of her head. "I don't _want _a genin team! Ino doesn't have one, and neither does Sakura!" Naruko proceeds to list every reason why she shouldn't be entrusted with living breathing humans, including the fact that she'd inherited her mother's sense of personal hygiene and the fact that she mainly survived on ramen.

Minato is surprised that she doesn't bring up her pranking habits.

But the deal-breaker is something about how she will probably take her relatively financially-secure children out to gamble with Tsunade whenever she has the chance.

Minato has to resist the urge to slap a palm across his own face.

* * *

Three days later, the Yondaime decides to visit Konoha's newest and potentially most dangerous prisoner. He is kept on a compound deep underground, a place built in a rare joint effort between Danzou and the Yondaime. The man is a bit archaic at times in his methods, but there is no denying the use he has for Konoha.

Footsteps echo as the Yondaime makes his way down a bleached hallway, the only lighting unnatural and flat. Guards nod to him as he passes, some wearing the standard flack jacket issued to every shinobi chunin and above, others donned in ANBU gear, mask and all. High level prisoners need higher level guards, and only the worst ever make it in here.

After all, this was where he had personally dumped Orochimaru.

Minato comes to a stop before Room 266. He looks expectantly at the bearded guard who merely nods in compliance and opens the door. The air is brisk as he steps in.

Messy yellow hair that stands up like flames, piercing blue eyes that stare into his soul. It really is like looking at a younger version of himself.

The Yondaime smiles. "Hello, Naruto."

Naruto flinches back and snarls, "Go away. I don't want to talk to you or anyone else."

Minato nods to the guard who closes the door behind him, leaving him in the room with the other blond. Turning to face the younger man, Minato's face loses all sense of kindness and warmth. His eyes are ice and his voice an arctic front. Everything about him is cold and deadly.

"We have much to discuss, you and I."


	4. Chapter 3

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

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**A New Dawn**

Chapter 3: Nothing Is Real

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

Uzumaki Naruto refuses to believe a word they say. They are all fakes anyway, shadows conjured by Obito to chip away at his sanity. He wouldn't let them win though. He would never allow them to.

"Shut up."

Namikaze Minato—or his shadow—is interrupted as he goes over the details of what he calls _the incident. _Naruto supposes that this was when he arrived in the genjutsu, but he can't be too sure. He hasn't bothered to pay any attention to the conjuration of his father.

Minato's eye twitches at the sheer gall the boy before him displays. Deeming the entire exercise pointless, he gets up to leave. Before he leaves the room, he makes sure that the chakra-suppression seals that ensnare the chamber are well in order. It wouldn't do to have an S-class threat running around the village.

He has his suspicions about the boy's identity, his greatest clues being the seal on his stomach and the fact that he responded to the name 'Naruto', but none of that changes the fact that the boy is a very real danger, one that left an entire force of ANBU quaking in their boots before he had the chance to arrive.

Just as he passes through the door, the Yondaime looks back. Naruto was leaning back on his small cot, glaring at the ceiling. But something strange happens when he catches a glimpse of Naruto's eyes then—seas of blue that rage against the world.

Naruto's eyes snap to his own then. They burn into him with an intensity that makes him want to take several steps back.

It's all he can do to fight off a shiver.

* * *

"Naruko-chaaan~!"

A young blond in standard jounin attire stops in the middle of the street at the sound of her name. Her face lights up with a sunny smile when she sees who called out to her. It's another girl with mouse-brown hair that's been tied into twin buns.

"Tenten-chaaan~!" She waves the other girl over with a giggle. They proceed to walk down the languid lane arm-in-arm as they swap stories and bits of gossip. The morning sun brightens by the minute as a few clouds lazily drift through the sky.

"Have you heard that Sasuke-kun might be promoted to ANBU Captain soon?"

Naruko looks up in surprise before she pouts, "No, I haven't. The asshole never tells me anything!"

Tenten merely laughs as her friend continues to point out all of Sasuke's irredeemable qualities, the most prominent of which being his insufferable personality, but she knows that those two are close. They'd been friends since Naruko's birth, the Uzumaki and the Uchiha, always squabbling with one another, always fighting over the pettiest things.

And yet despite the constant antagonism, those two were always there for each other. Tenten wishes that she and Neji could be like that.

"Hey, have you heard anything about that new prisoner?" Tenten blinks at the question.

"No," she replies. "Nothing so far."

Naruko shakes her head in disappointment. "I want to meet that guy. He felt so _strong_, like a kage. But even my dad has never felt anything like _that_."

"Naruko . . ." Tenten watches as her friend's eyes dance with awe.

"Isn't it strange, Tenten? Here we are training for all our lives to become strong ninja, then this guy comes along and paralyzes the entire village like its nothing."

Tenten can't help but grimace at the memory. She had been walking through to streets on her way back from buying groceries when she felt a massive build-up of chakra coming from the north side. Like any good Konoha ninja, she went to investigate. It was fortunate that she was still on the ground when it happened though.

There was a massive burst of the densest chakra she had ever felt in her life. She was nearly blown off her feet, and she _would_ have been had she not used her own chakra to latch onto the ground. A brilliant golden light shined from over the roofs, the as quickly as it came, it vanished._  
_

By the time Tenten made it to the area from where she felt the blast originate, there was no-one there.

She heard about him days later, the man who looked like the Yondaime but felt like a beast.

"Yeah, he really is quite the mystery, isn't he? Have you asked Hokage-sama about him yet?"

Naruko snorts, "Are you kidding? I'm already trying to convince him that kids and I don't mix!"

"And what about Konohamaru?"

Naruko waves a hand in dismissal. "That's different. He's like my apprentice or something like that. Sorta."

"I thought you didn't want to teach . . ."

". . . Your point?"

Tenten sighs and decides to just enjoy the walk while her blonde friend tries to talk her to death.

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**Author's Note:** _This was never intended to be an incest-fic and it never will be. I don't see romance in general happening at all for this story._


	5. Chapter 4

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 4: Breaking Free

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

The Kyuubi is proud and mighty, but even it can feel respect for those who deserve it. Right now though, the only one it respects is Uzumaki Naruto.

_**"Naruto . . ."**_ The boy stares up at the blank ceiling, the only signs that he had heard at all being the slight twitching of his ears. He choses to respond in his mind, knowing that Kurama was the one thing that absolutely could not be faked by Obito, no matter how powerful the genjutsu.

_'Yeah, Kurama?'_

_**"You have languished for too long. It is time for us to leave this wretched place."**_

Naruto snorts as he idly blows his spiky bangs out of his eyes, his forehead protector no longer keeping his hair up since it had been confiscated. This genjutsu was pretty damn good if the fakes could even touch him and his things.

_'We _can't_ leave. Even if this entire world is made up, those chakra-suppression seals are no joke.'_

Kurama snarls at the audacity of his container. Who does he think he's dealing with?!

_**"You **_**fool!**_** You forget your true nature!" **_

Naruto's eyes shoot open at the anger in Kurama's voice. _'Wha-?'_

_**"What are you,**_**Naruto?**_** Have you truly forgotten the bottomless power that lies in your grasp?"**_

Naruto stills. _'The Nine-Tails chakra . . . I am the vessel . . .'_

The Kyuubi is rather smug. _**"Precisely. Nothing here can withstand my power."**_

The Uzumaki boy grins, choosing to speak aloud for the first time in days, "Let's get started!"

The guard pounds on his door. "What's going on in there?!"

Naruto does not respond, only feels as suppression seals steadily crumble under the full power of the Kyuubi no Youko. Just as the guard manages to open the massive steel door, Naruto allows his body to burn with that golden light.

The poor guard nearly wets his pants when crimson eyes pin him to the floor.

**"You . . ." **The demonic voice shoots ice through his veins. **"Tell your fake Hokage that so long as he doesn't follow me, I will leave this village alone."**

The man trembles as the prisoner takes a step closer. He can literally feel the air crackling with power. **"Got it?"**

The man nods hastily, and the former prisoner smiles, prominent fangs bulging from his mouth. **"Good . . ."**

Naruto vanishes with a burst of godlike speed, leaving naught but a golden flash in his wake.

When the Yondaime arrives mere minutes later, he doesn't even have the faintest idea on where to start searching.


	6. Chapter 5

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

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**A New Dawn**

Chapter 5: An Anomaly Set Loose

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**~o**0**O**0**o~**

Namikaze Minato is at his wit's end. He and Danzo built this prison a full mile under Konoha, tunneling through solid rock and building the infrastructure from titanium steel for maximum security purposes. And it only takes this boy who came out of nowhere a few days to break out like it's nothing.

Calculating blue eyes sweep across seal after broken seal, taking in the smooth bed-sheets and the blank white walls.

Minato seethes.

The boy had the _audacity_ to leave without a trace too!

Minato mutters under his breath as he rakes a hand through spiky blond locks, losing himself in his self-pitying thoughts. He raises a brow when one of his ANBU steps forward and bows respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, the DNA tests are ready." The man proceeded to hold out an envelope with a big red _TOP-SECRET_ stamped right across it. The Yondaime accepts it cooly.

"Thank-you, Bear. You may retire for the day."

The ANBU nodded graciously, "By your leave, Hokage-sama."

He vanishes in a swirl of leaves.

Namikaze Minato throws his head back with a sigh. He has a feeling that this won't be the best news he's received today. Focusing his chakra, he senses the Hiraishin seal he has implanted on the hospital grounds. With a single pulse of his power, he vanishes, a single flash of yellow fading fast in his wake.

* * *

Senju Tsunade has been running Konoha's hospital for nearly two decades now. Ever since her idiot teammate's apprentice became Hokage, things in Konoha had started to change for the better. For one, Tsunade was actually given the power to do what she wanted with the medical system. Jiraiya might have been a perverted moron in her eyes, but Namikaze Minato most certainly isn't.

No, Minato is calculating and ruthless. Above all, he does whatever he deems necessary to protect the inhabitants of his village.

This is a Hokage she is completely willing to take orders from.

The beautiful blonde doesn't so much as look up from her stack of paperwork when he flashes into her office. She's had plenty of practice dealing with Jiraiya. There's no way that someone a decade younger could ever even hope to take her by surprise.

"Ah, Minato-kun. Have a seat." She looks up at him expectantly once the pile of paperwork had dwindled appropriately. "I take it that you're here about the DNA test results?"

The Yondaime nods curtly. Tsunade offers a shrewd grin. "So you and Kushina got busy in secret, eh?"

The busty Sannin enjoys the view as the famed Yellow Flash reddens and sputters in embarrassment. "W-What?! _No!_"

She takes a moment to laugh at his expense before she intertwines her fingers and rests her chin on her hands. "Have you even looked at it yet?"

Minato shakes his head in denial.

Tsunade snorts at his indecisiveness, "Hand it over then. There's no point in giving it to you if you won't even look at the damn thing."

He wordlessly passes her the sealed envelope. She rips it open and plunders the few papers inside before rapidly scanning the contents.

Minato watches as the Slug Princess suddenly frowns at something on one of the papers. She seems to be going over the same bit of information over and over again, as if trying to make sense of what she's reading. Abruptly, she whitens.

"Minato," she whispers. "Was that Naruko's DNA you gave me?"

He can do nothing but shake his head, unable to tear his gaze from her shaking hands.

"Did you _ever_ have another child?"

He blinks as her voice turns a bit harder. Again, he shakes his head, a bit unprepared for the impromptu interrogation he finds himself in.

Tsunade slams a hand down on her desk without warning, sending papers flying everywhere. Furious golden eyes lock on his own.

"Then explain to me, _Minato_, why this shows the DNA of a boy who could be Naruko's twin."_  
_

Minato struggles to keep his muscles from locking up at the sudden influx of killing intent. He is a kage and has been for a very long time, but Tsunade Senju is not a force to be taken lightly. Belatedly, he remembers that Tsunade and Kushina were distant family and that the woman doted on Naruko whenever she could.

He realizes that it probably wasn't the best idea to tell her about his now least-favorite missing prisoner.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_I felt that making Tsunade close to Kushina and Naruko made sense in the long run. _

_But I feel the need to warn any readers, again, that this story is strictly a plot bunny. My real efforts will be put into my main account under the penname Duesal10. _This_ account (under the penname Rikkudo) was created for the sole purpose of dumping plot bunnies whenever they came up._

_But for now, since it only takes me half-an-hour to write these so-called chapters, I'll probably be continuing this plot bunny for quite a while._


	7. Chapter 6

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 6: The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

1) Uzumaki Kushina has been a mother for over sixteen years. She has changed countless diapers, cleaned a baby Naruko more times than she cares to remember, and often found herself cuddling her only child to sleep. But she is especially overprotective because she and her child are the last of the Uzumaki blood.

Her entire clan was annihilated during the Third Great Shinobi War in a joint effort of the Hidden Villages of Cloud and Stone.

And yet, there is another reason that the redhead beauty dotes on her daughter a bit more than considered normal—to the Uzumaki, family is everything. Such bonds were more treasured than the most intricate of seals, more potent than the fabled Uzumaki chakra.

After all, love is like a force of nature in of itself.

To outsiders, Kushina coddles Naruko a bit too much, but that's just Kushina's way of making sure that Naruko knows she's loved. She's long since stopped caring about what other people think and she won't start now.

2) Over the years Kushina and Naruko have become quite close with Senju Tsunade—a distant relative through the legendary Uzumaki Mito. Tsunade would drop by every now and then to check up on little Naruko at Minato's request, then slowly the visits weren't just medical examinations anymore. The Slug Princess would bring toys for the little toddler to play with while she and Kushina would share idle chatter about the going-ons of their lazy village.

Slowly but surely they forged lifelong bonds of friendship over tea and pastries, even if Tsunade managed to spike her drinks with sake whenever she thought Kushina wasn't looking. The truth was that Kushina _was_ looking, she just didn't really care. So long as the woman kept the stuff away from Naruko, she didn't give a damn.

To Naruko though, Tsunade was always just "Oba-chan," the nice lady who always brought toys for her to play with. Tsunade didn't really mind being someone's aunt. Sometimes she actually liked the warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach whenever the little half-pint beamed up at her in a sunny greeting.

3) Kushina has been the vessel of the great and terrible Kyuubi no Youko for most of her life, but she has only ever used its chakra twice. She doesn't remember the first time though, only the aftermath.

It was when she was a newly made chunin. She was on a mission to deliver critical information to a bordering camp during the war with Stone when she was ambushed.

One second she was leaping through the trees and the next was staring at the bloody stump where her hand used to be. She distinctly remembered two things; the feeling of falling, and her teammates screaming out her name.

Then everything went black. When she woke up, the forest wasn't a forest anymore; it was a wasteland. Great towering trees had been reduced to charred lumps of charcoal. Nearby rivers and streams had run completely dry. Even the air was devoid of life, as if a deadly force has simply wiped it out.

Absently, she realizes that her hand is back and completely unblemished, almost clean.

But Kushina knows that what happened was anything but clean. When her sensei has to tell her that in a fit of blind rage she slaughtered her own teammates, she doesn't come out of her depression for months. It doesn't help that they wouldn't let her see the bodies.

And yet she comes out of the hole she'd been hiding in to care for her sensei's son when the man dies. The Uzumaki take care of their own, and even if the Hatake aren't related by blood, the silver-haired man is the closest thing she has to a father in Konoha. Konoha's inhabitants quickly learn not to insult Sakumo within fifty yards of Kushina. For that, Kakashi is forever grateful, even if he'll never admit it to her.

The second time she remembers vividly. Like the first, it was in the middle of the battlefield where emotions tended to run wild and out of control. She and Minato had been doing border patrol on the front lines when they stumbled on a ragged force of Stone nin going to opposite direction. The two groups stop and stare at each other.

Then one of the men from Iwa mutters a snort about how he couldn't believe they'd managed to miss one. Evidently, they've been out of action for a while because they actually don't recognize the Yellow Flash when he steps right in front of them. He politely asks them what they meant, a sharp undertone in his voice. The nin proceeds to brag about how together, Stone and Cloud had managed to completely destroy Uzushiogakure.

It takes a full minute for the words to register in before one clear though finally filtered through.

_Uzushiogakure . . . they destroyed it. Th**e**y d**est**ro**yed it!**_

Kushina sees red. But this time she _remembers_. She remembers her hand burying into the gloating Stone nin's chest and ripping out his still-beating heart. She remembers the looks of utter terror on the faces of the man's comrades as she allows his body to fall to the floor with a sickening thwack. Had she been able to see herself, she would have noticed a cloak of bubbling red vile chakra, shrouding her with a sinister power.

When she reaches out with taloned hands, one of the Stone nin wets himself as he completely loses control over his body. Uzumaki Kushina does not pause or hesitate. This was the village that took her family away from her. The screams can be heard for miles.

Years later she is somewhat glad that she can remember that moment so perfectly. Revenge brings no one back from the dead, but at least her family's souls can rest a little happier now.

The one thing she regrets though is lashing out at Minato when he tried to calm her down. He still had the scar from where she tore a gash through his chest.

4) In the present day, Kushina honestly doesn't know what to make of the situation when Tsunade drags her pale-faced husband through the door with a firm grip on his ear. When Tsunade proceeds to tell her exactly why, she decides that she and Minato are going to have a _very_ long talk.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Eh, what can I say? I got bored, so I wrote. Anyway, I chose Kushina because Kushina is awesome.


	8. Chapter 7

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 7: Of Stammered Explanations and Confusing Confrontations

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

Minato has been Hokage for a total of nineteen years, but he isn't ashamed to admit that the thing he fears most is his wife when she's angry. Kushina Uzumaki is a forced to be reckoned with.

Over the years, he's learned that his wife has three specific types of anger. The first is the loud kind where she is usually prone to fits of violence and hurling loud insults at anything that manages to earn her ire. Minato has learned to handle it through careful manipulation and sly flattery. It works most of the time.

But Minato has never figured out how to deal with the second type of anger. The ear-splitting screams of rage he can tolerate, but it's this deadly silence that truly sends shivers up his spine. Whenever Kushina is quiet, everything seems to turn into a disaster. This type of rage is more reminiscent of divine wrath than anything Minato has ever known.

She's quiet right now.

Minato has to visibly restrain himself from bolting he explains about the escaped prisoner who might as well be Naruko's twin brother. That look in her eyes threatens to set him ablaze as he tells her why he chose to keep another Uzumaki secret from her. He gulps as the cup of tea she's been holding abruptly shatters in her grip, spilling the hot drink everywhere.

Kushina doesn't so much as glance as it. Her jaw tightens in a silent demand for him to continue speaking.

Minato is coming close to flashing the hell out of there before rage category two can transform into the positively demonic category three.

* * *

Naruto has escaped that wretched stink-hole of a prison at last . . . only to realize that he has no clue where to go. Was there anywhere _worth_ going in a fake world? His parents are alive here, but they weren't _his_ parents. He wanted nothing to do with this mockery of his father. The man had died a hero, and to see this clone of his standing there so casually . . . it made Naruto want to rip off his head.

Words cannot describe the rage that Naruto felt when he saw that . . . _shadow_ walk in through the door of his cell. When that happened, he decided that he hates this world and that he utterly _loathes_ Obito for making it and for making everyone's sacrifices seem like nothing.

Obito . . . The one man that even _Naruto_ is willing to kill. Not just willing to kill, aching to kill, _dying _to kill.

But first he has to break out of this world. The poor boy doesn't even know where to start.

**_"Naruto, stop running. You've already made it out of Fire Country."_**

_'What the—?!"_

Naruto slows to a stop and balances himself on the branch of a large tree. Pausing for a moment to take stock of his surroundings, he stares. The woods here are less dense than in Konoha, younger too. He can see dirt roads in the distance and taste salt in the air. He _knows _this place. Wave. He's in Wave.

Fake or not, Naruto decides that he should be able to convince Tazuna and Inari to let him stay the night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **In response to one of the reviewers, yeah, Naruko isn't a jinchuuriki. I don't want to reveal too much about this new world though. Saving that for later. I would also like to point out that the world Naruto finds himself stuck in is very real, he's just too stubborn to see it. Is that at all surprising though?


	9. Chapter 8

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 8: Far, Far Worse Than Before

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

When Naruto walks into Wave, he is expecting to see a grand bridge with his name on it and a thriving economy. He is expecting to see an older Inari happily working with his grandfather, diligently learning how to be a carpenter.

But what greets his eyes is a bandit town.

Houses are overrun with thugs.

Children are nowhere to be seen.

There are hundreds of graves, most of them built for men, but over thirty build for someone a third of the size.

Women weep openly at their fate, only to be beaten by the men who hold them captive.

Naruto's jaw clenches and his eyes burn. Kurama is silent as he feels the rage of his vessel erupt into a raging inferno. Without any prompting, the great nine-tailed fox melds its strength with Naruto's.

Twenty-six minutes later, every single bandit has been obliterated by a man cloaked in golden light. They lay haphazardly through the streets, unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. The women are fearful of him at first, but after he dispels the light and reassures them that he's human and that he wants to help them, they throw themselves into his arms and sob.

* * *

It takes Naruto a full day to find Tsunami. She had been held captive in the town's only inn, forced to do the cooking and cleaning. Naruto flinches at the soullessness in her eyes when he first sees her.

He instantly realizes that she is changed from the kind woman who in another world welcomed him into her home. This woman has lost her will to live.

Gently, Naruto leads her back to her house. They don't speak a word to one another the entire way.

Naruto doesn't have to ask her to know what happened to Inari and Tazuna. There were more graves than he could count, enough to make him wish that he had killed the bandits a bit more slowly.

* * *

The resident ANBU Captain Uchiha Sasuke starts slightly along with the Commander Uchiha Itachi when the doors to the headquarters slam open. They blink in unison when the Hokage's wife storms in and stops right in front of Itachi's desk.

She slaps a piece of paper in front of him. "I need two teams of ANBU under my direct command immediately."

Sasuke's brows furrow in confusion, but it is the expressionless Itachi who asks, "And for what purpose do you request these shinobi?"

"I'm looking for someone," comes the immediate reply.

Itachi looks at her impassively as if searching for the real reason, but Kushina doesn't back down. If anything, the fire in her eyes grows _stronger_. Ultimately, Itachi bows his head.

"It will be done. Sasuke will head the team that will serve under you. You can have them for two weeks, but no more. Konoha cannot afford the loss of eight ANBU for any longer than that."

Kushina nods graciously, "Thank you, Itachi-kun."

Just as she turns to leave, she glances at the youngest Uchiha in the room. "Sasuke, you should probably talk to Naruko. She's been whining lately about not seeing you."

Kushina stays just long enough to enjoy the a blush that would put tomatoes to shame spread across Sasuke's face. The corner of Itachi's mouth twitches in a ghost of a smile.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I figure that I might as well write while I still have inspiration. _

_And about Wave . . . yeah, a LOT of things are different. In this world, the Wave mission never happened. As for whether Gatou himself is the cause of this, that remains to be seen._


	10. Chapter 9

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 9: Preparations

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha stares at his brother long after his Kushina oba-san left the room. Itachi is occupying himself with the piece of paper that the woman left behind.

"Nii-san . . ."

"Yes, brother?" Itachi doesn't so much as glance up. Inwardly, Sasuke sighs. His brother is a bit challenged when it comes to expressing his emotions. Not as bad as Sai, but still, pretty awful.

"What's on the paper?" he decides to ask.

Itachi pauses a moment before holding said document up for his little brother to read.

Sasuke almost faceplants at the contents.

_Itachi-kun, if you don't give me what I want right now, I swear to you that I'll start helping your mother try to find you a wife. Not that you aren't old enough or anything. You're 22, aren't you? Have you started looking for any girls yet? Are they cute? Do I know them? Ooh! Are they shinobi? Kyaaaa! My little Itachi-kun all grown up and finding his own woman and—_

Sasuke stops reading for his own sanity. Kushina oba-san can be just as weird as Naruko sometimes. Speaking of Naruko, he is supposed to meet her at Ichiraku's later today . . .

He looks pityingly at his older brother. "I can understand why you were so willing to give her the ANBU squads."

Itachi lets out a long-suffering sigh, the most emotion he's shown all day. "Indeed. I can't avoid the marriage forever, but I can do my best to delay mother's efforts." In his mind's eye, he sees the image of a chibi Kushina and Mikoto plotting to get a poor, innocent Itachi to tie the knot. The image cuts off as explosions in the background make everything blur.

Itachi shudders. _'Those two together would be disaster in the making.'_

Then he turns a critical eye towards Sasuke. "Don't think you've been let off the hook. The only reason that you aren't being pestered by mother and Kushina oba-san is because you're pretty much set with Naruk—"

Sasuke abruptly abandons the room in favor of not hearing the rest of that sentence. Colorful leaves swirl to the ground as the aftermath of his shunshin.

Itachi smiles brightly this time, a spectacle that few ever witness. Eyes crinkling in amusement, he leans back in his chair. "Foolish little brother." He absently wishes that he could have poked Sasuke's forehead.

* * *

Naruko is very annoyed while she slurps her ramen. This makes people stop and stare, because Naruko is _never_ annoyed while slurping ramen. The two images just don't mix. Ramen was calming and pure—to the Uzumaki at least, a relatively well-known fact to just about everyone in Konoha—and to see Naruko annoyed while in the process of consuming it probably signaled the beginning of the Apocalypse.

Just as people are beginning to whisper about what could be going wrong, Uchiha Sasuke shunshins into the stool next to Naruko with his face aflame. He refuses to look at her while Teuchi takes his order.

"I'll just have the beef this time." The old man nods before he goes into the back to get the necessary ingredients.

The Uchiha turns to find his blonde teammate ready to spit fire. She explodes, "YOU WERE AN HOUR LATE!"

Sasuke winces at her volume as the last of the red in his cheeks retreats. Her yelling at him often has that effect.

He calmly retorts, "Blame your mother. She held Nii-san and I up back at the ANBU headquarters."

Naruko suddenly loses all traces of her previous ire as her curiosity spikes. "What did she want? Tell me, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eye begins to twitch as she starts to tug incessantly on his sleeves. He does nothing though; trying to make Uzumaki do anything is a lost cause.

"She requested two teams of ANBU which will be led by me for a total of two weeks to . . . _'find someone'_ as she put it."

Naruko's pretty blue eyes scrunch up with thought, then they dawn with understanding. Just a few days ago, that really strong guy had escaped from her dad's super-secret-but-she-still-knew-about-it-anyway underground prison. What really stood out in the memory though was when he had to tell her mom. Naruko didn't hear most of that conversation, but it was pretty damn funny to watch.

Then her eyes widen as she comes across an absolutely brilliant idea, probably because she's basking in the glorious power of ramen. If she thinks of an idea while eating ramen, there's no way that the idea isn't just plain awesome . . . Exhibit A of why back when they were in their prime, everyone avoided the Uzumaki. Few could deal with the medically insane and even fewer when said insane people were fuinjutsu masters.

There was a saying that went screw with the Uzumaki and they screw you royally. And possibly more than once. Creatively too. It was a long saying.

Naruko licks her bowl once she has drained it of the soup and leans back in her stool with a contented sigh. "Ahh, that hits the spot. So when do we leave?"

Sasuke stiffens as he looked at the girl in a panic. "We?"

Naruko nods like she's delivering fantastic news. "Totally! I'm coming with you, 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke has to resist the urge to bang his head against the counter of the ramen stand. He figures (correctly) that Teuchi won't appreciate that.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_So one reviewer has asked me about when I plan to have a totally badass confrontation between the Konoha shinobi and Naruto (where full epicness is on display). The answer is soon. Very soon. Keep in mind that this is a plot-bunny. I have no intention of dragging it out (or spending more than thirty minutes writing each chapter), so that confrontation should be seen within two to four chapters._


	11. Chapter 10

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 10: Departure

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

Sasuke's movements are rigid and stressed as he sprints towards the village gates. Normally he would be calm and collected, but the object of his ire is screaming into his ears.

"Oi, Sasuke! Stop ignoring me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and merely upped his speed, eliciting a yelp of protest from his pursuer.

"Get back here, bastard! You can't leave without me!"

Sasuke doesn't stop sprinting across the rooftops as he glares over his shoulder. "You haven't even been assigned to this mission! You _can't_ come!"

"My mom's leading this mission and my dad's the Hokage!"

"You're not even in ANBU!"

"SO?!"

Naruko's lower ranking is a bit of a sore spot for her.

Sasuke turns his attention back to the front with a sigh, "Why do I even bother?"

Naruko must have heard, because she shouts back, "You know you love me anyway!"

He almost trips while his face does the perfect impression of a ripe tomato. Naruko laughs at his expense while she whizzes right past him to the village gates. Sasuke growls and races to catch up. Who knows what she'd do without him there.

Inwardly though, he laments about the fact that he's not stuck with one Uzumaki, but two.

Naruko and Kushina.

The two loudest kunoichi in Konoha. Possibly the entire world.

It makes him want to curl up into a ball. But he is a dignified Uchiha, and dignified Uchiha do not curl up in sorrow.

* * *

Kushina is getting impatient. With every passing minute, Minato's Uzumaki minnie-me will be harder to find. Seven ANBU are present at the gates, all of them waiting silently for new orders. Young Sasuke is the only one missing, and Kushina decides to rip him a new one for being like his sensei as soon as he shows up.

She blinks when a blur of orange and blue slams down right in front of her, kicking up a storm of dust in the process. Kushina nearly squeals in delight when the dust clears enough for her to see what it is.

Naruko and Sasuke are actively grappling with one another, their positions easily mistakable for an entirely different activity.

"You're not coming!"

"Yes I am!"

"No," Sasuke says as he forces himself up and pins Naruko to the ground by her shoulders, "you're not." He narrows his eyes at her, _daring_ her to defy him.

Pretty blue eyes sparkle as she pouts at him. Kushina sees Sasuke's resolve begin to falter under her daughter's practiced gaze. The woman decides to save the poor boy from a potentially embarrassing situation.

"Kyaaa! You two are so cute!" Or not.

The two teens take one look that their position and scramble away from each other as fast as they can, their faces practically on fire.

Kushina giggles perversely, "So when can Mikoto-chan and I expect grandchildren?"

Some of the ANBU are having a tough time containing their laughter. If possible, Naruko's face gets even redder while Sasuke opts for just donning his Hawk ANBU mask to hide his face.

It only takes Naruko seconds to erupt with a scandalized cry of, "MOM!"

Kushina only laughs. She loves teasing her daughter and Sasuke like this.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Sorry about the false update. FanFiction glitched out on me. Anyway, for some reason, when I uploaded this chapter before . . . it didn't actually register as updated. _

_Sooooo, I'm going to keep trying until it does. Sorry for everyone who's probably going to get a whole lot of update emails because of this._


	12. Chapter 11

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 11: Out of Control

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

Naruto has been feeling off for a full week now, but today his body is literally burning from the inside. He pants and groans in his bed as the recovered Tsunami worries over the health of her rescuer.

Naruto barely manages to crack open an eyelid and grin, "Heh, I'm fine Tsunami oba-chan. This is—" He pauses to cough violently. When he looks up again, his smile is a bit less sincere. Crimson runs down from the corner of his mouth. "This is nothing for a guy like me. I'll beat this cold like I beat those bandits."

_Mercilessly._

Tsunami's answering smile is skeptical and worried as she gently pushes the teenager back into bed and goes to get him some food. He's only been getting worse for a while now. She can't quite quell the growing feeling of dread that has been building in the pit of her stomach, the same feeling that she got before Gatō destroyed her life and her family.

The winds of fate roil restlessly.

Regardless, she carefully prepares some herbal tea in the hopes that Naruto will benefit from its effects. She flinches when the cup cracks.

* * *

They dance through the trees, running across branches and leaping through leaves.

Kushina glances sharply behind her. Naruko and Sasuke are doing fine, but one of the ANBU is starting to lag. Kushina merely turns and keeps going: she can't afford to stop. The ANBU will just have to rest and catch up with the group later.

Her eyes are firmly fixed ahead.

* * *

The women gather at Tsunami's house that night. Word had spread that their savior had fallen deathly ill, and all of them wanted to help however they could. Those who had knowledge of herbs and healing set to work with cleaning Naruto up, dabbing his face with a wet towel to counter his fever while some of them made to gather the medicinal plants from the surrounding forest.

A team of six brew a stew specially made for him to drink while the rest simply do the chores around the rest of the house. There aren't many of them left anymore, only a total of fifty. Amongst themselves, they had decided that it would be best for them to stay together in one place. Tsunami had graciously offered her home, saying that the house was far too big for her alone.

No-one could argue with the reasoning behind the suggestion. A few had broken down crying again, remembering the families that they had lost. But this time, they aren't shackled and beaten. This time, they are allowed to comfort one another.

And this time, they have a boy to bring from the brink of death. He is sweating profusely and he has just started to vomit whatever they try to feed him. His skin is deathly pale had his breathing his harsh and labored. It's all he can do to keep himself awake, and it's all they can do not to scream in frustration when nothing they try on him works.

They begin to panic when he coughs up blood.

* * *

Inside the seal, a monstrous beast shifts restlessly in its cage. A great red eye narrows in apprehension.

This feeling is unnatural, alien. Death's scythe is pressed as firmly to his throat as it is to Naruto's, and Kurama doesn't have the slightest idea as to why. This sickness came out of nowhere like a whirlwind, effectively grounding Naruto and rendering him helpless. None of the Kyuubi chakra helps, not even when Kurama makes a conscious effort to direct it in purging his vessel's frail human body.

But then suddenly he realizes that he has used too much.

The cage shakes and the lighting flickers as Naruto's body violently rejects the dense foreign chakra that has been shoved into its system.

Kurama stares helplessly as his only friend writhes in agony.

* * *

***_One Day Later_***

Uzumaki Kushina and her force of Leaf ninja ready their weapons in front of a small house that seems to be filled with nothing but women. They all look to be civilians, but better safe than sorry.

The women shriek and struggle, but in the end, they are all bound and corralled by Crocodile—a lean, muscular man—while the rest of the team heads into the house through the doors and open windows.

After clearing room after room of women, they finally find the one place that the inhabitants are actually trying to _guard_. Kitchen-ware and rusty knives are held shakily in inexperienced hands. Feminine faces are hardened with resolve. Sasuke blinks; never before has he seen such determination and bravery from any civilian.

But what they're hiding is obvious.

Raising a hand to activate his microphone, he reports, "This is ANBU Captain Hawk. I believe I've found where our escapee is staying, although the inhabitants appear to be trying to protect him."

It takes a moment for Kushina to respond.

_"Message received. Do not engage. Naruko and I will be over there in a second, and the rest of the team is securing the perimeter."_

Sasuke nods, even though he knew that his godmother wouldn't be able to see him. "Understood. I'll be on standby until your arrival."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Confrontation is next chapter people, next chapter!_

_Also to my new reviewer (you know who you are), I appreciate the reviews, but you didn't have to review from multiple accounts. I will never hold this story hostage simply based on its review count. Seriously though, thanks. The effort you put into it made me smile._

_Also, if you haven't already, check out _**Minato's: The Art of Being Dead**_ by_ **PyrothTenka**._ It is gold, and the writer herself is awesome._


	13. Chapter 12

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 12: Backed into a Corner

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

_Naruto retires on account of a devastating fever for an entire week, but he wakes with the strength of ten-thousand lions at his beck and call. He rises as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and he will lay waste to all who attack those he has decided to protect._

The door did very little to conceal the noises from outside. Women are yelling at something to go away, but whatever it is doesn't bother to respond. As the seconds roll by, the voices only grow more and more panicked until they are literally screaming with terror.

His eyes snap open when they suddenly fall silent. Slowly, he rises from his bed.

Uzumaki Naruto instinctively tenses his weakened muscles as the door slides open. He is shocked when he sees Uchiha Sasuke standing over the limp forms of the women he'd rescued the week prior, to ninja right behind him.

Naruto sees the other two ninja, but he doesn't _see_ them. He only sees the Uchiha whose eyes swirl in a deadly crimson dance. The Uchiha who is standing over the bodies of the women under his protection.

His vision goes red.

Sasuke or not, that man is dead meat.

* * *

Sasuke has just finished casting his Sharingan-based genjutsu on the last of the women when Kushina-oba-san and Naruko shunshin into the hallway with a swirl of leaves. The two women look at the bodies scattered across the floor and Naruko reaches down to check the pulse of the one next to her.

"Just unconscious," she confirms.

Kushina nods in approval. "Good. Sasuke-kun, open that door, will ya'?"

He inclines his head in deference to her greater rank, then he moves to do as she commands. When he slides the door to the side as Kushina and Naruko ready a sword and kunai respectively, the air turns to syrup.

An oppressive force squeezes his heart as he struggles to fight it off. With a grunt of effort, he dispels the miasma of darkness that has enshrouded him and his Sharingan blaze. Then he stares into the blackness of the room in front of him while Kushina and Naruko work to cast off the killing-intent around them as well.

_If you stare into the abyss long enough, something will stare back._

Red eyes gleam in the darkness. They flicker from Sasuke to the bodies strewn at his feet. When they look up, Sasuke can't help but shiver at the fury he sees.

Ice floods his veins as a guttural growl rumbles through the air.

Then without warning, stars burst across his vision as something bright and golden slams straight into his face, sending him crashing into the ground. Not even the Sharingan could see what just happened. Whatever that was, it was on par with the Fourth.

The lasting he hears is Naruko screaming his name, then his awareness drifts into Oblivion.

* * *

The fever has affected Naruto badly. It twists his mind and corrupts his thoughts. Right now, everyone he sees is an enemy, and he takes pleasure as the Uchiha's forehead snaps back in response to a chakra-enhanced haymaker.

But a loud, ear-splitting scream pierces his mind as the Uchiha falls into a crumpled heap, "SASUKE!"

Naruto's head snaps up, red eyes wild and bloodshot. He falls onto all fours and growls with a primal timbre to his voice as a blonde woman races towards the Uchiha's limp form and tows him to safety. However, his attention is fixated on the silent redhead in the middle of the hallway. She stands there motionlessly, sword in hand and armor strapped to her chest and limbs.

Something about her seems familiar, almost as if he met her in a dream. Violet eyes stare back at him with unbridled awe as she looks upon his light-infused body. They widen when they catch sight of his terrifying crimson eyes, almost as if in recognition.

Naruto frowns in confusion. He can't tell why this strange woman is staring at him like that, but he does realize one thing: these people are invaders, and they have harmed those under his protection. Such a thing cannot be allowed to stand.

With a deep guttural growl, he advances, calling upon the full power of the great demon sealed within him.

The very air burns when he roars.

* * *

Kushina doesn't so much as move when the monster in front of her roars. She's not nearly as affected as Naruko and Sasuke because _she_ is intimately familiar with this monstrous rage, this consuming fury.

This boy burns with the vengeance of the Kyuubi no Youko.

It should be impossible, and yet it is undeniable. The energy bound within her own body thrums in response as the boy's body burns in that brilliant golden flame. His eyes are the eyes of the great demon fox, and his teeth are wickedly sharp.

But the most telling detail is the fact that the fox locked within her howls with rage as he feels his own chakra outside of his cage responding to someone else's will.

**_"You wretched impostor! I'll rip your flesh from your bones and crush your skull!"_**

That's what convinces Kushina that the boy doesn't just have the Kyuubi's chakra—he has another Kyuubi entirely.

The Uzumaki are prone to making leaps of faith with their logic, but this one happens to be right.

It's all she can do to dodge as he barrels past her with an animalistic snarl. With a snap, one of Kushina's chakra-chains wraps around his ankles. The boy looks to her in confusion before he's wrenched completely off of his feet. His confusion turns to frustration as his golden chakra-cloak fails to break the chain.

Kushina glances behind herself sharply. "Naruko! I need help!"

Her daughter scrambles to her assistance, and within seconds the boy has been covered from head to toe in glowing chakra-chains from both mother and daughter. He thrashes and struggles, and yet slowly his light begins to recede.

Kushina's chakra and Naruko's are both specifically tuned to deal with the Nine-Tailed Fox, and this boy can be effectively restrained if he is using _its_ power. The chakra-chains are their trump cards here.

Within minutes, the boy's eyes are sky-blue and utterly bewildered as he finds himself tied up and hanging upside-down.

He freezes when he catches sight of her and whispers, "Mom?"

Violet eyes widen in shock.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Admittedly not my best work, but I'm really just pushing to update today. The verbal confrontation will be next chapter. Who knows? Naruto might be a bit more accepting of a fake Kushina than a fake Minato, even though none of them are fake. :P_

_Anyway, I've got another story for you guys to check out: _**Drunken Space-Time Ninjutsu** _by _**Igornerd**_. It's freaking hilarious, and the guy is a friend. Check it out. You won't be disappointed._

_Also, if any of you were curious at all (although I'm pretty damn sure none of you were at all), my absolute idol when it comes to writing fan fiction is the author **Kraken's Ghost**. This guy is one of THE top writers on this site, and unfortunately he stopped writing long before I ever had the chance to meet him. However, his stuff is all still available to read._

_I'm actually using his work to learn how to write._

_Just be sure to pick your jaws up off the floor once you're done reading his work,_ any_ of his work. He is quite literally what I aspire to._


	14. Chapter 13

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Chapter 13: Falling Apart

* * *

**~o**0**O**0**o~**

_"Even the most tempered steel will bend and break under the right circumstances."_

_— I just made the quote up __because I thought it sounded cool._

Kushina drops him.

"Ow!"

What?! What's she supposed to do when her little Uzumaki-Minato-lookalike calls her _mom?! _She's freaking out here!

**_"Kill him! Kill him now!"_**

_'Shut it, fuzzball! This is a really bad time, 'ttebane!'_

**_"LISTEN TO ME YOU MISERABLE LITTLE—"_**

The fox's rants fall on deaf ears as Kushina severs the mental link.

"Stupid fuzzball," she mutters. As if she would listen to anything _it_ said! She looks up muffled groan captures her attention.

Kushina blinks as the Uzumaki escapee is suddenly plowed into the floor, courtesy of Naruko's fist. "That's for Sasuke, bastard!" After doing so, she marches straight back over to the Uchiha to try and revive him. Kushina can't help but wince at the fist-shaped indent on the side of his face.

The boy—and now that she looks closer, she realizes that he's almost _exactly_ like Minato—rolls onto his side and spits out a mouthful of blood.

"Uuggh, I feel so siiiiick." He proceeds the vomit all over the floor. The vile smell shrouds the entire room in a miasma.

Naruko and the newly awakened Sasuke gag violently before fleeing the room, the Uchiha clutching at his face where the other teenager had decked him.

All the while the prisoner groans and whines his many woes.

Kushina's eyebrow twitches, but it's an involuntary action. It's because remembers that exact same whine from Naruko's childhood.

_Kaa-chan, I'm siiiiiiick!_

_Kaa-chan, I want raaaaamen!_

_Kaa-chan, I don't wanna take a bath!_

_Kaa-chan, I don't wanna get up! _

_Kaa-chan, Kaa-chan, Kaa-chan!_

Let it be known that patience is not the Uzumakis' strong-suit.

"Quiet, 'ttebane!" Kushina's fist comes down hard on the poor blond's head. He's out like a light.

Kushina suddenly realizes what she's just done. "Aww, dang it!"

* * *

As soon as Kushina is absolutely sure that the occupants of the house are only civilian women, she releases them with a multitude of apologies for her team's intrusion.

A woman glares in her direction. "Good-for-nothing shinobi," she mutters. "First that Zabuza character, then _you_." Undercurrents of loathing lace her tone.

Kushina winces, but says nothing. They have every right to hate her after what she just pulled. Home intrusions are never taken lightly.

"Yeah! You barge into our home then attack the poor boy who saved us?! What kind of monsters would do such a thing?!"

Kushina wilts as the barbs increase and the condemnations grow louder and louder. It seems as though the small mob is about to attack when a pretty dark-haired woman walks into the room. Kushina remembers her as one of the women who was guarding—or trying to guard—the hallway leading to the room where Minato's mini-me is staying.

"Tsunami-san, are you alright?" The crowd falls silent as the women all wait to hear what she has to say.

A soft, gentle smile puts everyone at ease. Kushina watches the woman carefully as she speaks. "It's alright, these Konoha shinobi have agreed not to harm us if we cooperate."

It doesn't take the women long to pinpoint the loophole. "What about Naruto?" one of them shouts.

Kushina finches at the name. Minato had told her already, but it was definitely something else to hear it said out-loud. Hearing the male version of her daughter's name was somewhat jarring, she had to admit.

The following empty threats and demands are overwhelming, but Kushina stands firm.

One of the women, in a bout of recklessness rushes to slap her.

She falls three feet short of her target when she is suddenly floundering in a sea of murderous fury. She can't stop her legs from locking up and collapsing, because all of her effort is focussed on trying to breathe.

Gasping, she looks up.

Kushina's expression hasn't changed in the slightest. In fact, she's smiling pleasantly.

"See, the thing is . . . I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." There are whispery undertones of malice in her voice.

She leans down as the civilian struggles to choke out an answer. All of the women in the room are too terrified to even move.

Kushina blinks, and her smile grows a bit wider. "I'm sorry, what was that again?"

A trembling voice threatened to break into sobs with every syllable. "M-Michiko."

Kushina straightens and turns around to pace in front of the mob she has so successfully cowed.

"You see, _Michiko-san_, I have no intention of harming any of you." The women gasp and whimper as the windows shatter and the skies darken. There was no sign of a thunderstorm mere minutes ago.

"But if any of you move against me or my team . . ." More than one of the civilians collapses as they find themselves staring into eyes with slits for pupils, eyes that were completely normal just an instant before.

The winds rip through the air like it's paper.

There is a pulse of hellish power, and those eyes begin to change.

"If you touch a single hair on any of their heads . . ."

There isn't a single sound in the room as Kushina's eyes turn red. Even the storm outside is prudently silent.

When she speaks again, it's more than obvious that she's not the only one. There is . . . _something_ saying the same words that she is, something with a heart of darkness and a voice like gravel against steel. **"There will be _hell_ to pay."**

No-one moves for an entire three hours. Michiko finds that she is unable to talk for the rest of the week.

* * *

Kushina slumps against a wall around a day later. Dammit, she had never meant to use _its_ power, it had just slipped out.

Her hands are buried in her long, red hair as she massages her head.

_'Crap, I should've known better!"_

She had actually used _its_ energy against _civilians_. What would Mito baa-sama say?

**_"Who cares what she would have said? That wench died tr_****_—"_**

___'Shut up!'_

Kushina slams a fist into the floor, and the connection between them is severed like its been sliced through with her sword.

"Dammit!" Tears are leaking from her eyes. She hates the way those women had looked at her, eyes full of fear and loathing. "Dammit, why can't I control you like she could?"

She hates that someone looked at her like that _again . . ._

It takes her six minutes to school her unruly emotions. She is a proud shinobi of Konoha, wife of the Yondaime, the woman who had _earned_ the title of Red-Hot Habanero, and the last of the pure-blooded Uzumaki royalty. She is better than this. She is _better _than this.

That beast will _not_ gain control of her.

She sits there silently as the shadows from the window creep across the room to announce the break of dawn.

Kushina looks up though when she hears sheets rustling.

Bright blond hair peeks over white sheets. "Uggh, my head." The sheets move a bit.

She can't help but wince at the injury she caused. Nevertheless, she curiously walks over to his bedside and pokes. "Are you finally awake, sleepyhead?"

The lump with yellow hair just rolled over. "Five more minutes."

Kushina forgets herself as she's immersed in a familiar argument, one that she had engaged in many times with Naruko.

"No, _not_ 'five more minutes'. Come one."

The boy clutches at his blanket tighter. "Noooo. 'Ruka-sensei's giving us a test todaaaay."

Kushina isn't really paying attention to what he's saying. "Doesn't matter. You still have to _get up._" The poor boy yelps as Kushina rips the blankets right out from under him, sending him sprawling on the floor.

But in the end, he's the one laughing last. Kushina's temple throbs as the boy starts snoring where she dropped him.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" She storms up to him and violently starts to shake him.

Bright blue eyes crack open. As soon as they catch sight of the angry Kushina, they widen dramatically as the boy says the first thing that comes to mind.

"Kaaa-aaa-aaa-chaaa-aaa-aaan?!" Kushina realizes that his answer is gibberish because she's shaking him like a rag-doll. The Uzumaki woman proceeds to drop him.

His blue eyes are even wider than before. He rubs them and looks back at her, as if to be sure of what he's seeing. "You're . . . _alive?!_"

Kushina was expecting a lot of things when this one finally woke up, but she wasn't expecting that. "Excuse me?" she _asks_, red eyebrow raising.

To her annoyance, the boy's—_Naruto's_—expression never shifts from incredulous awe.

"B-But, but, you! And the Kyūbi! And—"

Kushina can't stop herself from grimacing at his mention of the monster sealed away within her.

"—you helped me beat it, and then you told me you loved me and that tou-san did too and . . ."

She watches carefully as the boy pauses to take a much needed breath.

"_How?!_" he concludes, chest heaving and eyes slightly puffy.

"Well," she begins, "maybe we can start with you telling me why you think I'm you're kaa-chan."

Naruto's eyes widen in shock and disbelief. "What are you—oh. _Oh . . ._"

Shadows cover his eyes. "Damn it. _Damn it!_"

Kushina prudently reaches for the sword hilt above her shoulder. He keeps on calling her 'Kaa-chan', but she doesn't react to that as much as what he's doing now. His hands are trembling and his is opening and closing, but nothing comes out.

When he looks up, she can see nothing but rage and pain.

_So much pain._

Her hand falls away.

"You aren't real! NONE OF YOU ARE REAL!"

Acting on some motherly instinct, Kushina kneels and pulls the screaming boy into a hug. She holds him like that as everyone in the house including her ANBU team and Naruko and Sasuke come to see what's going on.

All the while, she whispers soothingly in his ear and rubs his back, just like she had once done for Naruko so long ago.

Slowly, his screams reduce to choked sobs.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Well, I figured I might as well write since I had another freaking snow day._

_Anyway, the 'verbal confrontation' as I so eloquently put it is actually a bit longer than I anticipated. I mean, there has to be a believable level of utter denial, right? (Keep in mind, _I'M_ impatient too. This is a plot-bunny and I don't want to drag it out.)_

_That said, I've got some more recommendations for you guys, although I'd be very surprised if you hadn't at least heard of them._

_One of the best reverse time-travels out there: _**The Windmill Turns Both Ways **_by _**Blaizekit**_._

_The other one is an awesome combination of humor, badass fight-scenes, and still has deep meaning if you look hard enough: _**A Different Legend **_by_ **Infamous Storm**_._

_Be sure to check them both out! You won't be disappointed._


End file.
